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Natalie Connolly murder trial told of ‘sex games bruises’

A young woman found dead at the home she shared with her property tycoon partner showed her mother bruises caused by him in the weeks before her death, a murder trial heard.

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Natalie Connolly, inset, was allegedly murdered by John Broadhurst in Kinver

Natalie Connolly laughed about the marks which she told her mother Karen Whittington were sustained as a result of masochistic sex games with lover, multi-millionaire businessman John Broadhurst.

The pair had met at a pub in Bewdley and began an affair when Broadhurst’s long-term partner was eight months pregnant with their second child, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

They set up home in Kinver where 28-year-old Ms Connolly died after a night of drinking and drug taking.

She was found naked at the foot of the stairs with bruises over her head and arms.

More from the trial:

Mrs Whittington told police her daughter had met Broadhurst - who is charged with her murder - through her father at The Waggon and Horses pub in Bewdley.

She initially told her family she was working as the businessman’s PA and regaled them with stories about his wealth

Broadhurst bought her a BMW and furniture for their new home.

Bruises

Two weeks before her death she visited her mother and showed her painful bruises from ‘rough sex’ with Broadhurst, and red marks on her biceps which looked as though they were from a belt.

Mrs Whittington asked her daughter: “Who does he think he is – Christian Grey?” referring to the main character in the erotic best-seller Fifty Shades of Grey, the jury heard.

The mother-daughter exchange was revealed in a statement read to the court by prosecutor Mr David Mason, QC.

Mrs Whittington said she and her daughter had also met up to exchange presents, as Natalie and her daughter from a previous relationship were flying out to spend Christmas in Dubai with Broadhurst.

The mother of four also revealed how happy and excited her daughter had been about a trip to West Bromwich Albion’s ground, The Hawthorns, on the day before she died.

In a phone conversation, Natalie spoke about how she was looking forward to being wined and dined in an executive box at the stadium.

The couple's detached property in Kinver had been rented by Broadhurst after he left the £1.5m home he had shared with his previous partner.

Broadhurst, of Blakeshall Farm, Wolverley, denies murder and causing grievous bodily harm on December 18, 2016.

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